Boat-lashing device.



No. 898,094. PATENTED SEPT. 8, 1908.

' E. T. CLAYTON.

BOAT LASHING DEVICE.

APPLICATION lILED MAB.. 22, 1907.

Inventor witnesses UNITED STATES PATENT OFFTCE.

FRED T. CLAYTON, OF SANDWICH, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ROBERT A. HAMMOND, OF SANDWICH, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOAT-LAsHING DEvIc.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 8, 1908.

Application filed March 22, 1907. Serial No. $63,926.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED T. CLAYTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sandwich, in the county of Barnstable and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Boat-Lashing Dechocks upon the deck of a vessel and yet will' be so constructed that it may be readily detached from the lifeboat when it is desired to use said boat.

The object -of the invention is further to provide a device of the character set forth which is simple in construction and easy of manipulation, so that in case of accident or at a time when it is necessary to manipulate the device very quickly and where oftentimes the people manipulating the device are panic stricken and excited, said device will be sure to operate and to operate without the exercise of much skill. A device of the character set forth is, of course, used where it is exposed to the weather and oftentimes exosed to a deluge of water, so that it is essential that the same should be protected in its construction against deterioration by reason of such exposure, and to this end my improved boat lashing device is particularly designed and constructed to protect the working parts against any danger of being rendered inoperative by exposure to the weather.

The invention consists of a link one end of which is pivoted to a fixture on the boat, the other end being pivoted to a fixture fast to the deck of a vessel upon which the boat rests.

The invention further consists in a link of the character described which is extensible longitudinally thereof and also of a link which is so constructed that one end may be rotated relatively to the other end thereof.

The invention further consists in the combination Aand arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and particularly pointed out in the claims thereof.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is an end view of a boat, partly broken away and shown in section, said boat being shown resting upon chocks upon the deck of a vessel, a portion of the deck and side of the vessel being shown in sectionand with my improved lashing device applied to the lifeboat and connecting the same to said deck. Fig. 2 is an enlarged section of the link, partly in elevation, taken on line 2*-2 of Fig. 1, the latch being shown also in dotted lines and a portion of theeye of the hook-shaped fixture being shown in section in connection with said link. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the fixture which is attached to the gunwale of the boat and to which one end of the link is pivotally attached. y

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

In the drawings, 5 is the deck of a vessel 6, 7 is a'lifeboat shown in Fig. 1 as resting upon the chocks 8, 9 is a fixture consisting of a U-shaped hook 10 connected to the gunwale 11 of said boat. The fixture 9 has an eye 12 formed thereon to which a link 18 is pivotally connected at one end thereof, the opposite end of said link being pivotally connected to an eye-bolt 14 by a pin 15.

The link 13 consists of a rod 16 which has a latch 17 pivoted thereto at one end thereof by means of a pin 18. A flat spring 19 is fastened to the rod 16, said rod being cut away at 2O to receive the free end of the latch 17 The latch 17 is locked in the closed position illustrated in Fig. 2 by means of a sleeve 21 which surrounds said rod and also incloses the free end of said latch when the same is in its closed position. A spiral spring 22 encircles the rod 16 and bears at its upper end against the lower end of the sleeve 21, thus normally holding the upper end of said sleeve against an annular rib 23 extending around the rod 16 and the free end of the latch 17. The spring 22 is located in a recess 24 formed in the upper end of an adjusting nut 25. The lower end of the rod 16 has a washer 26 fast thereto which prevents said rod 16 from being withdrawn from the nut 25, and said rod is further preferably rotatably connected with the nut 25 by means of a screw 27, the inner end of which projects into an annular groove 2S formed in the rod 16.

The upper end of the rod 16 is curved at 29 to form a portion or about one-half of an eye 30, the other part of the eye being formed by the latch 17. The inner edge of the latch 17 is cam-shaped at 31 for the purpose hereinafter set forth. A screw 32 having screw-threaded engagement with the nut 25 is connected by the pin 15 to the eye-bolt 14, said eye-bolt being rigidly fastened to the deck of the vessel, as shown in Fig. 1.

The operation of the boat lashing device hereinbefore specifically described is as follows: The hxture 9 is attached to the gunwale of a boat, either so that it can be removed or it may be rigidly fastened to said gunwale. The fixture 14, viz, the eye-bolt is rigidly fastened to the deck 5 of the vessel and the link 13 is pivoted to said eye-bolt by means of the pivotal pin 15. Assuming the eye 30 to be connected to the eye 12 of the iixture 9 and it is desired to disconnect the link from the fixture 9 so as to release the boat, the sleeve 21 is pushed downwardly against the action of the s'prin(y 22 until the upper end of said sleeve passes below the free end of the latch 17, whereupon the i'lat spring 19 rocks the latch 17 upon its pivot 1S from the position shown in full lines (Fig. 2) to that shown in dotted lines therein. The latch is then in position to be withdrawn from the eye 12 and it will be noted that it stands in substantially a horizontal position, so that when the link 13 is rocked upon the pivotal p in 15 said latch will pass out of the eye 12 and the link will then be disconnected from the boat. Ordinarily two of these links are used in connection with the boat, both operating in the same manner.

To connect the link to the boat, assuming that the U-shaped hook 10 is connected to the gunwale 11 and the latch 17 in the position indicated in dotted lines relatively to the link 13, said link is rocked upon its pivot 15 and said latch 17 is guided through the -hole of the eye 12 until the lower portion of said eye 12 assumes the position illustrated in section in Fig. 2, then the latch is drawn downwardly and at the same time the sleeve 21 is pushed downwardly until the latch is brought to the position illustrated in full lines-(Fig. 2) when the sleeve is released and is forced by the spring 22 upwardly against the rib 23, thus locking the latch 17 to the rod. In pushing the latch 17 downwardly preparatory to locking the same, as hereinbefore described, it will be noted that the cam-shaped inner edge 31 will bear against the lower end of the eye 12 and tend to 'force the hooked iixture 10 and the gunwale of the boat 11 toward the deck, thus taking up any slight slack that might otherwise remain between the different parts of the device after the same has been connected to the bolt, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The length of the link 13, as a whole, may be increased or diminished by rotating the nut 25 upon the screw 32 in the proper direction. It will be seen that the opposite ends of the link may be rotated relatively to each other, as the rod 16 (which with the latch 17 constitutes one end of said link) can be rotated in the nut 25, which, together vwith the screw 32, constitutes the opposite end of' said link. It will also be seen and understood that the sleeve 21 constitutes a protector or cover for the lower end of the latch 17 and for a portion of the rod 16. The rib 23 covers the joining of the upper end of the sleeve 21 and the rod 16,

so that no water can enter at that point. The spring 22 is inclosed within the chamber 24 formed in the nut 25 and the upper end of said chamber is closed by the sleeve 21', so that said spring and the lower end oit' the rod are protected against moisture. Thus it will be seen that the device is so constructed as to prevent the same becoming inoperative by reason of exposure to the weather.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire by Letters. Patent to secure is:

1. A device for lashing a boat to the deck of a vessel comprising in its construction a link, the opposite ends oi which are adapted to be pivotally connected, respectively, to a 'fixture fast to said boat and a iixture fast to the deck of said vessel, said link consisting of a rod, a latch pivoted to one end of said rod, said latch having a cam-shaped inner edge adapted to bear against said iirst named tixture for the purpose specified, and means to lock said latch to said rod.

2. A device for lashing a boat to the deck of a vessel, the opposite ends of which are adapted to be connected, respectively, to a iixture fast to said boat and a fixture fast to the deck of said vessel, saiddevice comprising a rod, a latch pivoted to one end of said rod, said latch having a cam-shaped inner edge adapted to bear against said iirstnamed Alixture for the purpose specified, and means to lock said latch to said rod.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence oi two subscribing wit- 

